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Sell your MacBook

John

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John
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  • Hi Mike! I wonder if your topcase connector inside the computer may have come loose and/or disconnected. I'd take it off and re-seat it. A loose connection could account for most of the quirky behavior you're seeing. If you go to ifixit.com and …
    in Dead Macbook A1181 (Late-2007)? Comment by John October 2011
  • Nate, awesome advice! Moving stuff around as quickly as possible might just confuse it, and cause it to work! :-) What's a PSU? As for the keyboard having liquid damage, you are apparently able to power it on (even though you only see a light an…
    in Alcohol Bath? Comment by John September 2011
  • Hi! It may still be a RAM issue, not with bad RAM but with a bad RAM slot. Try powering on with one slot empty. If that doesn't do it, switch the RAM to the other slot and power on with the other slot empty. Often the A1181 MacBook will have a b…
    in Alcohol Bath? Comment by John September 2011
  • The fact that a whole row doesn't work is a pretty good indication that you've fried some of the electronics, and there's no fix for that that I am aware of. Or one that is worth the time and effort, anyway. You might want to let it sit for a few …
    in Can you repair an aluminium Apple extended keyboard? Comment by John September 2011
  • Sorry, but you're screwed.
    in Can you repair an aluminium Apple extended keyboard? Comment by John September 2011
  • You might want to enjoy the weekend and then revisit it all a few days or a week from now with a clear head. Sometimes a little distance can really help. It would be a shame to give up all the effort you've put in and leave the experience with a n…
    in Happens again..... Comment by John September 2011
  • I would make sure it's at least a Snow Leopard generic DVD. Some of these machines might not be able to take Leopard. I wouldn't expect that the hard drives would be bad -- that's easy enough to test -- but that the OS installs on them might not b…
    in Happens again..... Comment by John September 2011
  • Have you tried booting to restore media, with or without the hard drive connected while you do it? If that works, try formatting and reinstalling the OS on the drives. It's a little odd, but I have found cases where a computer just doesn't like th…
    in Happens again..... Comment by John September 2011
  • Don't throw it all away! I'll buy the whole pile for $100! :-) Just kidding. In the frustration of these things it's easy to lose track of proper troubleshooting. Troubleshooting is all about identifying what you absolutely know to be true (g…
    in Happens again..... Comment by John September 2011
  • Hard to say. The only way to tell is to try it. I'm sort of having second thoughts about the "wire" idea, since it might cause additional damage or cause a short in of itself. If you try it, make sure to avoid touching the wire to anyth…
    in Macbook Power Issues Comment by John September 2011
  • Thanks for the post! Don't worry about the updates -- I have my e-mail notifications turned off, since I'm on the site enough to see new posts anyway. Interesting case. I don't normally think that replacing a port is a good idea, since the actual…
    in Macbook Power Issues Comment by John September 2011
  • There's some info on it in the post below, and also a link within the post: https://www.rdklinc.com/answers/discussion/comment/117#Comment_117
    in Why Buy Water Damaged Macs? Comment by John August 2011
  • I wouldn't pay that much, but like I've said, a broken laptop is without a doubt the best source of good parts. If you add up what those components would cost separately, even used, it's going to be way more than $400. If you go to Apple looking f…
    in Why Buy Water Damaged Macs? Comment by John August 2011
  • I agree, and I don't think that makes any kind of sense. I use a soft toothbrush and 90% rubbing alcohol, and I scrub the areas that show obvious signs of corrosion or contact with liquid. It's easy enough to see the affected areas with a flashlig…
    in Alcohol Bath? Comment by John August 2011
  • I would be suspicious of both screens if you haven't seen them working. NEVER trust a part you have not seen working. You could easily have two bad screens. If you assume the screens are good and the boards are bad, you might end up tossing a goo…
    in LVDS Connecter? Comment by John August 2011
  • Have you personally witnessed at least one of the screens working on another computer?
    in LVDS Connecter? Comment by John August 2011
  • Please, definitely post your results! I'm very curious to hear if this fixes it...I'll keep my fingers crossed! Like I mentioned, I've always been under the assumption that the burnt port is simply a symptom of greater damage and that replacing it…
    in LVDS Connecter? Comment by John August 2011
  • Again, I would take what users say as a hint, but never as fact, because when you end up actually looking at the computer, 90% of the time it ends up being substantially different from what they have described. Not necessarily because they are blat…
    in Macbook Pro Water Damage Question Comment by John August 2011
  • For what it's worth you might want to take the board out entirely if you haven't already and make sure there isn't corrosion underneath.
    in LVDS Connecter? Comment by John August 2011
  • Hello, and thanks for the post! I've seen many machines like this, and my theory is that it happens because the inverter cable on unibody MacBook Pros (I'm assuming it's a unibody) is embedded within the video cable, and so when there is a short of…
    in LVDS Connecter? Comment by John August 2011
  • I don't know where it would be then...my memory of 10.1 is spotty at best. If there is a search function in the OS, you could search for it.
    in Powerbook G4 Titanium Problems Comment by John August 2011
  • Your best bet is eBay, but be careful, there are many versions, so you want to make sure to get one specifically for a Titanium G4. But don't spend more than $20, because frankly your machine isn't worth much of an investment. For $150 on eBay you…
    in Powerbook G4 Titanium Problems Comment by John August 2011
  • Hi Tyler! Thanks for the post. First off, you're using a massively outdated operating system that was obsolete almost a decade ago, and which is likely to inherently have issues. I would upgrade at least to Tiger 10.4. Also, Internet Explorer fo…
    in Powerbook G4 Titanium Problems Comment by John August 2011
  • Hi Lucy! First off, make sure the computer has had a chance to completely dry. If there is ANY moisture in your machine and you power it on, most likely you'll permanently fry the logic board, if you haven't already. So I'd let it sit and dry for…
    in 13" Macbook Pro issues, water damage.. Comment by John May 2011
  • Hi Ernie! Thanks for the question! Sorry for the delay -- I've been on vacation. I'd guess it has the video issue that is common with these machines, but the first logical test is to power it on while connected to an external video source. If it…
    in Macbook Pro aluminum Comment by John April 2011
  • That's great to hear! I agree, I think it confirms the computer is basically working, and it's possible that the OS installer media is bad, or that your optical drive is bad, or not liking the media (which is often the case if media is scratched or…
    in dead dying or just sleeping? Comment by John March 2011
  • Hmmm...that sounds like a kernel panic screen. I would remove your hard drive, then try booting from the reinstall media. Obviously you can't reinstall the system with the drive out, but if booting off the media gets further than before, that's a …
    in dead dying or just sleeping? Comment by John March 2011
  • Did you try the resets, re-seating the RAM, etc.? Do you see the grey screen when trying to boot to the reinstall DVD, or were you able to fully reinstall the system, after which the grey screen appeared again? My opinion of what to do next really…
    in dead dying or just sleeping? Comment by John March 2011
  • Also, is the "black cursor" the pointer arrow, or something else?
    in dead dying or just sleeping? Comment by John February 2011
  • Hi! Sorry for the delay -- I've been away a few days. Do you mean you were successful reformatting and reinstalling the system, and then it went back to the grey screen, or it went to the grey screen when you booted from the install DVD? This may…
    in dead dying or just sleeping? Comment by John February 2011